US wants Thai decision

After her meeting yesterday with Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti, US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenny said the government needed to reach a decision on whether it wants to participate in the TPP, as the US and other signatory countries would be engaging in further talks on tightening trade cooperation and enhancing economic growth under the partnership.
 She said the US had provided more information about the TPP to the government so that it could decide soon about whether or not to join the project.
 The TPP has become a major discussion topic on the international stage, since it has the potential to become the US’s largest trading bloc.
 As it stands, the pact will strongly promote trade, investment and development among member states in nine Asia-Pacific countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States. Japan also announced its intention to join the TPP talks during last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
 Meanwhile, Kenny said the US authorities were confident about the flood-prevention measures being developed in Thailand this year. The embassy will also closely cooperate with the government to promote more direct investment from the US to Thailand, she added.
 Speaking after his meeting with the ambassador, Pongsvas said the government was still studying whether to join the TPP.
 He said he had reassured the US that the country had made major strides in its flood-prevention measures, and that more than 60 per cent of the flood-affected industries had recovered from last year’s inundation.
 Each industrial estate has also made big progress in building barriers against any repetition of the flooding this year, he added.
 The minister also said the government would continue to promote Thailand as the centre of Asean trading and investment under the upcoming Asean Economic Community, in order to increase confidence among foreign investors that they should invest more in the Kingdom.
 US investors continue to regard Thailand as their production base, particularly in the automobile and electronics sectors, he said.
 Western Digital, which the world’s largest electronic-components manufacturer, will continue to use Thailand as its production base, despite its plant being flooded late last year, he added.
 Moreover, the government will try to solve the labour-shortage problem by encouraging some industries to set up plants in border provinces, Pongsvas said. Among the targeted industries to be promoted in this way are the garment, food and furniture sectors.
 According to Board of Investment data, the US is Thailand’s third-largest foreign investor, with about Bt9 billion committed in the first quarter of the year.